Volunteers gathered signatures to demand a higher minimum wage

May 27, 2014

OFA volunteers across the country grabbed their clipboards and gathered petition signatures to call on lawmakers to raise the minimum wage. This week, volunteers from Riverside, California, to Harlem, New York, hit the streets as part of our national petition drive for a higher minimum wage.

Under the current federal minimum wage, hard-working Americans working full time earn just $14,500 a year. That's below the poverty line for a family of four. And nearly two-thirds of workers earning the minimum wage are women.

Communities across the country are recognizing that the current minimum wage is not enough and giving workers a raise could mean lifting nearly a million Americans out of poverty.

Akeena from Harlem, New York, did her part to collect signatures in her community.

Volunteers in Dayton, Ohio, took to the streets to tell lawmakers it’s time to give America a raise.

Women in Texas made their voices heard by signing the petition.

A student at Los Angeles Harbor College called on lawmakers to act.

See more tweets and photos from across the country:

[&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="//storify.com/OFA/minimum-wage-petition-day-of-action" target="_blank"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;View the story "This petition is a chance to make our voices heard." on Storify&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;]

Already in 2014, five states and Washington, D.C., have enacted minimum wage increases—and other states and municipalities are starting to follow suit. President Obama led by example, issuing an executive order to raise the minimum wage for all federal contractors.

Despite the fact that 7 out of 10 Americans support raising the minimum wage, a minority in the Senate blocked a bill from even coming to a vote. This petition is your chance to make sure your representatives hear your voice.